1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to domesticated pets. More specifically, the present invention relates to litter box accessories for domesticated cats.
2. Related Art
The use of cat litter as a defecation substrate in litter boxes has been widely used for decades. However, the major drawback with the use of cat litter has been the unwanted transfer of cat litter out of the litter box and onto the surrounding floors. Such transfer occurs in a variety of ways, including (1) litter tossed out of the litter box while the cat robustly digs with its paws in the litter box, (2) litter that gets between the toes and upon the hairs of the cat that is then transferred when the cat flips or shakes its paws to rid them of attached litter, or when the cat walks away from the litter box, and (3) cat litter that the owner of the cat drops outside the litter box as the owner cleans the litter box.
The result of this tracking, flipping, tossing and spilling is an unsightly area surrounding the litter box, grit under human foot if the floor surface is hard, tracking of cat litter throughout the pet owner""s house by human and pet foot traffic, and possible staining and destruction of a carpeted floor surface. Litter deposited outside the litter box is often tracked by pet or human foot traffic to other parts of the home, resulting in further sanitation problems.
This tracking problem has been exasperated in recent years with the invention and increased use of clumping cat litter. The particulate size of individual pieces of clumping cat litter are much smaller and finer than traditional xe2x80x9cnon-clumpingxe2x80x9d cat litter, thereby resulting in an increased amount of tracking as greater numbers of the smaller particles of clumping litter are able to be carried and flipped out of the litter box by the cat.
The unsightly, gritty, and unsanitary litter scattered outside the litter box is cause for much human aggravation and has been coped with unsuccessfully by the use of a variety of devices. Some of these devices have been designed to catch only the litter tracked on the bottoms of paws and do nothing to corral litter strewn about by other means. Some of these devices are so easy for the cat to avoid stepping on or in that they are essentially ineffective. Other inventions have been cumbersome in appearance and difficult to empty.
Furthermore, these prior art devices have done little, if anything, to control the mess incurred during litter box clean-up. Prior art methods of coping with the mess have involved manual and frequent sweeping, vacuuming, scrubbing and the like.
Many devices have been invented for the reduction and elimination of the tracking problem. For instance: both U.S. Pat. No. 3,246,630 (Dearing, et al.) and U.S. Pat. No. 3,885,523 (Coleman) disclose a xe2x80x9csanitary facility for animalsxe2x80x9d comprising litter boxes having a built-in screen upon which a cat walks to dislodge cat litter from the cat""s paws. Other inventions disclose apparatuses causing the cat to walk across a grated or screened surface to remove cat litter from the cats"" paws. See U.S. Pat. No. 5,042,430 (Casmira); U.S. Pat. No. 5,195,366 (Harvey); U.S. Pat. No. 5,195,464 (Mutter); U.S. Pat. No. 5,220,886 (Hyde); U.S. Pat. No. 5,388,550 (Noble); and U.S. Pat. No. 5,361,725 (Baillie, et aL).
Another device, U.S. Pat. No. 4,838,202 (Neu) discloses an xe2x80x9canimal litter containerxe2x80x9d comprising a five-sided box into which a litter box is placed. The Neu invention also is intended to be xe2x80x9ceasily accessible through both the top and one or more of the sides.xe2x80x9d
Other patents disclose litter boxes having sloped surfaces for the removal of cat litter from cat""s paws. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 5,676,090 (Canady, Jr.) discloses a xe2x80x9cscatter-resistant litter boxxe2x80x9d having a sloped front compartment with a sloped, carpeted surface for the removal of cat litter from cat""s paws; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,713,302 (Walter) discloses a xe2x80x9cpet waste containment systemxe2x80x9d alternatively having a sloped, ramp for the collection of litter.
Another U.S. Pat. No. 5,769,026 (Kohn) discloses an enclosure for a litter box having carpeted pathways for the removal of cat litter from cats"" paws.
Another U.S. Pat. No. 5,797,352 (Ebert) discloses a paw cleaning litter mat for placing outside the front of a litter box for the removal of cat litter from cats"" paws.
Two design patents, U.S. Pat. No. Des. 351,693 (Sutton) and U.S. Pat. No. Des. 351,693 (Evans), show other methods of collecting tracked litter, each comprising trays set in front of the litter box.
However, none of these patents disclose an enclosure for a litter box that is so simple, and yet is effective in many ways: that has an entrance that directs the cat in such a way that litter-retention inside the enclosure is optimized; that catches litter scattered by a variety of means, from being tracked on the bottom of paws and spilled from the litter box, to being flipped and tossed by the cat""s paws; that is adjustable in the combined size of the litter box and apparatus; is easy to empty by merely picking the apparatus up, tilting to the side and pouring into a container; that is lightweight; that is low maintenance; that adds to the aesthetic appearance of the litter box area; that provides a work area in which to clean the litter box without spilling or dropping litter on the surrounding floor; that greatly reduces the frequency that the surrounding area must be cleaned; that provides increased sanitation for the home; and that is used in combination with an existing litter box to make that litter box more efficient.
The present invention is an apparatus for corralling cat litter before it can be scattered outside the litter box. The present invention comprises a enclosure having a front side wall, a left side wall, a right side wall, and a base. The enclosure preferably does not have a back side wall. The enclosure has a portal, preferably in the front wall or in one or both side walls near the front wall, allowing a cat to step into and out of the invented enclosure.
The preferred enclosure is adapted to cooperate with a conventional covered, one-opening cat litter box. The length and width of the enclosure is such that all approaches to the litter box, except the intended side of the litter box with its front opening, are relatively inaccessible to the cat. This feature encourages the cat to use the invented enclosure properly. Thus, there is preferably relatively less space between the enclosure side walls and the side walls of the litter box, compared to space between the front wall of the enclosure and the front opening of the litter box. Still, there may be some space between the enclosure side walls and the litter box sidewalls to give some leeway in the fit between the enclosure and the litter box for variously-sized litter boxes. For example, a single enclosure may be sized to fit with two sizes of litter box, wherein using the smaller of the two litter boxes may result in slightly more space between the litter box and the sidewalls of the enclosures.
The present invention is used by sliding or setting a standard-sized cat litter box into the enclosure formed by the three upright walls of the present invention. The litter box must be so positioned within the enclosure so that a cat entering the enclosure through the portal at or near the front of the enclosure can enter the litter box. It is preferred that enough room will be between the front side of the enclosure and the front of the litter box so that the cat can stand with all four paws outside the litter box but within the enclosure. However, if the enclosure is alternatively sized so that the cat is only able to place one paw at a time within the enclosure, the enclosure is still beneficial.
The ideal litter box position is having the front side of the litter box just inside the open back of the enclosure. However, if available space for the litter box is too small to accommodate the ideal, fully-extended litter box-enclosure combination, the litter box can be moved forward inside the present enclosure, toward the front side of the enclosure, reducing the overall size of the combination. Enough space should be left between the front of the litter box and the portal of the enclosure, which is at the front enclosure wall (in the front wall) or near the front enclosure wall (in either side wall), so that the cat will step into the enclosure upon exiting the litter box, rather than jumping directly from inside the litter box to the floor outside the enclosure.
Upon using the litter box and exiting the litter box, the cat steps within the invented enclosure. Such stepping results in the dislodging of cat litter particles from the paws of the cat. These litter particles are deposited on the floor of the present enclosure instead of being tracked out of the enclosure. Most cats do not like the feel of litter adhered to their paws, so they tend to shake and flip their paws to remove the litter. This litter, dislodged when the cat shakes and flips its paws, is sent through the air, hits the walls of the enclosure and falls back to the floor of the enclosure, and is so contained away from the room""s floor area. Then, when the cat steps out of the invented enclosure, the amount of cat litter tracked is considerably less than the amount of cat litter that would be tracked out of a litter box that is not surrounded by the invented enclosure.
The present invention may be further used by the pet owner during cleaning of the litter box. The pet owner puts a trash container on the floor of the enclosure in front of the litter box. The caretaker reaches into the litter box, scoops litter clumps, lifts the clumps up, and deposits the clumps into the container. Litter spilled from the litter scoop during this process falls to the floor of the enclosure and is so contained away from the surrounding room floor.
To empty the enclosure, the pet owner moves the litter box backward out of the enclosure, picks up the enclosure, tilts it to the side, and pours the collected cat litter into a chosen container, such as a trash can.
There are many benefits to the present invention beyond the main benefit of reducing the tracking of cat litter outside of the litter box. A second benefit is the reduction of human aggravation associated with stepping on grit outside the litter box, the sight of litter outside the litter box, and the inability to keep the area free of litter without frequent sweeping, vacuuming, and scrubbing.
A third benefit is that the invented enclosure improves aesthetics of the cat litter area. For instance, the tracking of cat litter is unsightly to home owners, and eliminating or decreasing the amount of cat litter tracked into other areas of the home makes the home more attractive. Also, the enclosure serves to screen the litter box partially from view, thereby improving the appearance of the area in which the litter box is located.
A fourth benefit is reduced maintenance and labor. As the pet owner xe2x80x9cscoopsxe2x80x9d the waste clumps out of the litter box, cat litter particles that are dropped in such a cleaning process fall within the enclosure, allowing for easy clean-up. Also, by reducing the area in which cat litter is tracked, the time necessary to clean-up such tracking is greatly reduced. For example, clean-up of tracked litter is as simple as removing the litter box from the enclosure, tilting enclosure to one side to cause all of the loose litter to form into a pile, and then tilting the enclosure over a trash can to cause the piled litter to drop into the trash can. The pet owner does not need to come into contact with the litter. Alternatively, the owner may pour the tracked litter back into the litter box for reuse. Because the enclosure catches both tracked litter and litter tossed through the air by the cat, the frequency of clean-up to the area surrounding the litter box is decreased drastically.
A fifth benefit of the present invention is health, safety and sanitation. By reducing or eliminating tracked litter through the home, the home becomes more healthy and safe, for instance, by reducing the risk of allergy or disease that may be associated with used litter or cat feces.
A sixth benefit of the present invention is ease of use and handling. The present invention is preferably of a one-piece design, eliminating the need for assembly. The present invention, whether it is in one-piece or other design, preferably has no mechanical parts. The present invention is also of lightweight design, allowing use by individuals of differing size and strength. Operation is simple and easy to understand.
A seventh benefit of the present invention is forcing the cat to place all four paws within the present invention upon exiting the litter box. Many devices in the prior art are made in shapes and sizes that allow the cat to step through or over them with as little as one footstep. For maximum effectiveness, the cat needs to step into a device with all four paws, and the present enclosure encourages this behavior.
An eighth benefit of the present invention is the ability to use the present invention with the litter box already owned by the cat owner. Many of the devices found in the prior art include a litter box, thus making them usable only to cat owners willing to purchase a new litter box plus the device. In contrast, the enclosure is preferably an accessory to a standard litter box, thereby allowing the enclosure to be useable by not only those wishing to purchase a new litter box system, but by those already owning a litter box. The efficiency of a conventional litter box is greatly enhanced by the invented enclosure, thereby broadening the market greatly.
A ninth benefit of the present invention is the ability to catch litter both tracked and airborne litter. Many devices in the prior art attempt to stop litter either tracked litter or airborne litter, but not both.
A tenth benefit of the present invention is size adjustability. The combined size of the litter box and enclosure can be reduced or extended, depending on the wishes and needs of the user. The reduced-size combination offers valuable benefits for use in an apartment or small area where the ideal, fully-extended combination is not usable, thereby making the enclosure usable by more groups of cat owners.
An eleventh benefit of the present invention is that it is preferably a stackable or foldable design, decreasing wholesale and retail storage space and decreasing shipping costs.